Despite
a bit of lingering flu, I really enjoyed the West
Villages Improvement District meeting
yesterday. A lot of ground was covered. Unfortunately, the
traffic-light study report was not ready for the meeting, but it was
said that a draft of the results is currently under review. Still,
that was not the end of discussion on traffic. The purchase and
installation of new stop signs (the kind with solar-powered, flashing
LED lights) for the intersection of West Villages Parkway and
41/Tamiami Trail was approved. Regarding landscaping, there were also
again some discussions on sod replacement along 41 as well as
inconsistencies in public landscaping and pedestrian nodes on the
IslandWalk side of the district versus what is already in place for
Gran Paradiso. No point of discussion in these veins was either
groundbreaking or decisive at this point, though. Some landscaping
routine maintenance concerns have been corrected, and overall, the
traffic and landscaping interests seem to be moving forward nicely.
A
particular item of note from the meeting was actually announced at
the January meeting but given more time and several clarifications
yesterday. That item is that one of the five seats of the Board of
Supervisors for the West Villages Improvement District is to be an
elected seat from among resident candidates. Minutes of the January
meeting (from WVID
Meeting Book for Feb. 25, 2014), state that “Mr. Wodraska
presented the results of the Election Referendum held on December
10th, 2013...[and] the referendum to hold an election for one seat
this coming November passed.” At Tuesday's meeting, however, it was
clarified that the election cannot wait until November's election. It
is required to be within a particular time frame, so it has been
determined that it will be held at the Annual Landowner's Meeting
which is held each June.
In
order to ensure that aspiring candidates have enough time to begin
the entry process within the qualifying period, a date for the June
meeting was set. It is to be held on Tuesday, June 24th of
this year, but the location still has yet to be determined. It was
said at the meeting that it may have to be held at a public facility,
like North Port City Hall, due to the election process and the rules
regarding them. This elicited some concern from at least one meeting
attendee who felt that the driving distance may be prohibitive for
some residents. It seems, in past, that the meeting was held at the
IslandWalk clubhouse. In response, the IslandWalk HOA manager offered
to open the community clubhouse to all district residents for voting
purposes that day. The discussion was left with the acknowledgment
that the Board would need to review all of the rules and various
location options prior to making a final determination.
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North Port City Hall entrance (photo by Ali Johnston)
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